


Brothers In Aura

by Thechipmunk01



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-15 19:52:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11238021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thechipmunk01/pseuds/Thechipmunk01
Summary: When A blind Pokemon Trainer and his Lucario partner stumble across a wounded Starly in the woods, they find themselves thrown into the center of an intense conflict that threatens their entire way of life.





	1. Chapter 1

A soft, subtle breeze tousled my brown hair, the scents of grass and flowers wafted into my nostrils, I smiled. Today was a good day to relax, and I intended to enjoy it as much as I could. I'm a fourteen-year old boy, normal enough, considering I'm both a Pokemon Trainer and totally blind. The world was my Cloister, and I was happy to be in it. A sudden sound caused me to jump slightly, I tensed and focused my senses, a soft sort of hum ran through my body, and the four 'tails of my headband fluttered beside my ears. I stood, and a wave of blue energy rippled before me, the life force of all things in this world, the strange energy that was created by Arceus alongside this mystical world; Aura. I could sense something approaching, but I couldn't quite pick it out of the sea of other Auras that were pulsing around me. I clenched my fists, trying to concentrate, I heard a slight rustle behind me, and i jumped upwards, grabbing at the branches of the Sitrus Berry tree that i had been sitting under. I closed my hands around a sturdy-ish branch and swung myself up, crouching and waiting. I could feel a strong Aura nearby, whatever it was that had been running around a second ago was obviously close.

     "Mark?" a voice echoed in my mind, I flinched and felt a short-lived sensation of weightlessness as I fell to the ground with a grunt. I felt a paw on my arm, a familiar padded palm brushing against my fairly light skin as my friend helped me up.

    "Luke! Don't scare me like that, i thought you were that crazy Scyther from earlier!" I said indignantly, sighing.

    "Sorry, but i didn't see you back at camp, i was worried!" He said, moving his paw from my arm to my back as I recovered from the scare. My best friend Luke was a Lucario, we had known each other for years, but sometimes he would do things like this, freak out because i had walked off somewhere to relax for a bit. I understood his worries, but he could be a bit... Overprotective.

     "I'm sorry i wandered off, I just thought I would take a little breather, we've been training a lot lately..." I trailed off, shaking my head. The tails of my headband fell back down  as i got back to my feet, letting my mind relax. "Let's get back, i want to grab some of these berries for the road." I said, taking Luke's arm as we began to walk back to our temporary base.

     As soon as we set foot in our camp, I felt that something was... off. I don't know how to properly explain it, I just felt like something wasn't quite right with our campsite. I walked towards the sound of crackling and burning, the pot of Oran-and Lum Berry soup I had set up to cook was steaming, I could feel the light mist of heat tickling my face as I reached down to grab at the ladle-and yelped as my hand touched the hot metal. Luke was at my side at once, holding my hand and probably giving me a 'really?' look.

     "S-sorry..." I said, looking down. Luke sighed softly, a little growling sound escaping him, not an aggressive growl, mind you. This sound was more... Parental, like he was telling me to be more careful without actually saying anything.

      "The stew looks about ready, let's put out the fire and let it cool for a bit." he said telepathically. I nodded, walking to my tent and reaching towards my bag, I moved my hand around in the pack until I felt my canteen's cool, smooth surface and pulled it out, it felt heavy, probably due to all of the water inside. I strode back over to the fire pit and doused the flame, sending up a cloud of foul smoke that made me cough and sputter. I stepped back and took a breath of clean air, shaking my head. A rustling in the bushes nearby made me turn, I sent out a pulse of aura, scanning the area for anything potentially dangerous. When my aura sight locked onto the form of a small creature, I gasped. It was a young Starly that was shaking in the brush, letting out feeble peeps of nervousness and unease as it tried to free itself, I approached slowly, putting my hands behind my back and speaking to the Starling Pokemon calmly.

     "Easy little buddy, you're hurt... i'm gonna help you out of there, okay?" i said, reaching out to touch the small Pokemon. It let out a nervous trilling sound, causing the thorny vines to rustle as the Starling Pokemon quivered in fright. I moved carefully, very slowly trying to pull the sharp, prickly plants aside, wincing and jerking backwards as a thorn cut my hand. Strangely, the thorn didn't feel quite right... it was cold and hard, almost like metal...

      The Starly jumped out of the bushes and landed with a cry of pain, I could feel the small Pokemon's pain, not like I just felt bad for it-which i did- it was more like I literally felt a stab of pain through my right arm, incidentally, the Starly's right wing seemed... damaged somehow, I reached out to touch it, receiving a startled peck on my hand, I drew back, just sensing the poor thing's aura as it looked around, flinching and seeming to shrink at the slightest noise. I heard Luke walking over, and the Starly let out a sharp chirp as my companion glared down at it. I scooped the Flying-Type up in my hands, holding it close to my body and being careful to avoid moving its hurt wing. I felt its emotions as clearly as if they were my own, fear, pain, confusion, and loneliness. I looked at Luke, getting worried as I heard him gasp and felt his aura flare up, I scrambled to my feet, taking a few steps back as my companion uttered an angry growl.

     "L-Luke...?" I asked meekly, feeling the bird Pokemon make itself smaller out of fear. Luke's aura was an intense knot, focused in the center of his body like a tightly coiled spring. I realized a moment too late that there were several human auras headed our way, I tried warn Luke, but before I could open my mouth, something came hurtling down from the sky like a Bullet Punch, ensnaring me and the little Flying-Type and pinning us to the ground. A deep rumbling somewhere above me told me that my atttacker was airborne, though that didn't really help me much.

     My assailant and her Pokémon floated down to ground level, when I could finally make out their auras, I felt a chill crawl down my back like a Spinerak scuttling down its web. The stranger stood straight and tall, her aura distorted by some kind of weird suit. The Pokémon at her side looked like a rough customer; a Salamence, and a strong one, from  the way it snarled at the Lucario that stood between it and me.  
I could feel the tension in the air, it was like a storm front had decided to drop in on us, surrounding us in a bubble of pressure. A bubble that would probably end up getting someone seriously hurt when it popped. I could only watch, helpless as my friend faced the menacing duo, lowering himself to a crouch, his muscles bulging beneath his fur as he prepared to launch himself at the growling Dragon-type...


	2. Mysteries and Mythos

The air was electric, every breath I took seemed to be forced out by the bubble of intense pressure that surrounded us. My partner's stance was rigid, his form coiled like a Seviper set to strike. The stranger and her Salamance stood poised, observing the Aura Pokemon with their auras softly pulsing in a strange, disjointed rhythm I assumed that the other human's aura was behaving so strangely because it was being distorted by her weird armor, but the odd, disconnected pulses their auras let off were similar to many "normal" Trainer-Pokemon duos Luke and I had met. I could only guess that the Salamance had been captured by this person somehow, either with a Poke Ball, or something like that. I couldn't be very sure though, it seemed like it was still a wild 'Mon with the way it held itself, its posture was barely controlled, like it was having a rather difficult time holding itself back and waiting for a command from the human at its side.

    "Salamance, Dragon Claw!" The woman said flatly, as if she didn't really care about the battle. The Dragon-type launched itself into the air, its aura burning brightly around its claws as it flew at my companion, slashing at him with claws coated in some strange energy. Luke took the hit without faltering, dodging backwards, springing up onto a tree branch that was positioned just above the tips of his pointy ears. Once he had stable footing, he focused, lifting his paws over his head, beginning to move in an unusual sort of dance, five ghostly shapes beginning to circle around him, they almost looked like swords, but a lot less solid. Before my partner finished the Swords Dance, his right paw shot out, snatching one of the ghostly blades from the air, doing the same thing with one of the other blades on his left. I heard a small gasp near me, but I couldn't pinpoint where it came from, and my aura vision wasn't picking anything up other than the battle.

    "Fire Fang, Salamance, then use Dragon Claw!" The stranger ordered, her posture shifting slightly as her right hand drifted to her hip. I wasn't sure what she was doing, due to her aura being distorted, but I doubted it was anything good. I struggled against the tough, sticky substance that pinned me down, trying to free myself so I could help my partner. Unfortunately, I couldn't really do much against the strong bindings that held me down. I could sense a change in Luke's aura as he jumped to an adjacent branch to avoid a vicious, fiery snap from the Salamence's mighty jaws. The Aura Pokemon lunged at the dragon with lightning fast movements, like a Ninjask, he struck hard and fast, slashing at the flying Pokemon with the two swords he held, which were now pulsing with a strong, steady energy.

    "What's this? Some clever illusion?" The stranger mused, softly chuckling to herself. "Interesting, perhaps my journey here won't be a waste after all!" She snapped her fingers, something she and her Salamance both understood, because the beastly Pokemon moved backwards, hovering overhead, but remained poised to attack at any moment. Its breathing was heavy, the big 'Mon must've needed a rest.

    She stepped forward, her posture straight and tall, like a sturdy tree. Luke and I both tensed up, what was she up to?  
I heard a rustling in the trees above me, but all my aura vision told me was that there was something vaguely humanoid above me, obscured by the auras of the branches and brush. I heard a tiny peeping sound beside my head, picking up the aura of a Pokemon, at least that's what I guessed it was. The creature was tiny, its aura resembling a little bird. I heard it flutter down to my right bicep, where it cocked its head thoughtfully before starting to peck at my bonds. Why was this little guy helping me? I wasn't sure, but I wasn't about to stop him, if him helping me get out of these bindings so I could give Luke a hand, it was fine by me!

    The female seemed to study Luke, looking him over as he crouched on a branch, his Aura Blades still burning bright. I heard a snicker from the lady, causing me to tense up. At the same moment, there was a rustle in the branches above my head, as well as a small ripping sound. I felt the sticky substance pinning my right arm down loosen slightly. I struggled, trying to wrench my arm free of the stuff, which I managed to do after a couple tries. I immediately went to work on trying to free my other arm, with the little Pokemon helping me out by pecking at those bindings as well.

    "Well, you might not be what I came for, but I think you'll fetch a very fine price on your own!" She said, withdrawing some kind of... thing from her hip, it seemed somewhat small and unimpressive at first, but the press of a button transformed the unusual object. From the shape of its nearly nonexistent aura, it seemed to be a stick of some sort, metal probably, though as it grew longer, its aura grew brighter and stronger. She whirled the stick above her head twice, then took a step forwards and thrusted it towards Luke's tree. I heard a sharp CRACK! and every hair on my body stood on end as a blast of energy erupted from the end of the stick, the moment the blast of energy struck the tree, the sound of wood cracking and splintering echoed around the clearing as I heard something fall to the ground with a feeble THUMP. I was shaking like a leaf, an ice cold sweat running down the back of my neck as I heard the stick-wielder's footfalls moving closer to where my partner had been standing a moment before. His aura revealed that he was laying just inside the husk of the tree's split trunk, not knocked out, but struggling to stay awake.

"Luke! You gotta move!" I yelled, fear growing like a hard, thorny bulb in my chest as I clawed at the restraints on my legs, desperately trying to tear them away so I could help my best friend. The little bird Pokemon helped too, trying to cut through the sticky restraints with a Razor Wind attack. I felt several sharp stinging pains in my arms as a few of the sharpened blades of air sliced into me. I tried to ignore the pain as my last two bonds snapped.

    I scrambled to my feet, gasping as my head started to spin from the sudden movement. I rushed forwards blindly (heh, jokes.) and found myself tripping over a chunk of broken tree trunk, my face having a rather close and intimate meeting with the hard-packed ground. I felt a burning pain in my nose, and as I reached pushed myself up to start moving again, something warm and wet dripped onto the back of my hand. I flinched as I registered the fact that my nose was swelling up and throbbing painfully, but I threw myself back into my current mission; getting to Luke. My legs threw me forward and over a large piece of smoking timber, landing me just a few feet away from my companion, who was struggling, obviously in pain as he tried to rise. I rushed to his side, helping him to his feet just as I heard the sound of something whirling through the air, I ducked just in time to narrowly avoid a powerful surge of electrical energy. Sparks danced along the cracked and splintered remains of the once beautiful tree. I heard another sharp CRACK! And the smell of burning wood and smoke stung my throat and burned my lungs as I crawled along the ground, Luke pulling his weight as best he could, though from the limpness in his right arm, it was broken. I shuddered, icy beads of sweat tricking down my back like the fingers of a ghost, causing me to shiver and my breath to become uneven as I pulled us both along, trying to stay behind larger chunks of the tree's trunk when I could. Eventually we neared an unharmed tree and got to our feet, albeit unsteadily.

    We moved as quickly as we could, ducking behind trees and trying to stay as quiet as possible, freezing at the softest of sounds, constantly straining our senses to try and detect even a trace of our pursuer. I scanned every possible area around us with my aura vision, tension rushing through my body like a river, making my hands shake as I tried to climb into a tree to rest. The rustling of leaves and the sound of a light weight landing on a nearby branch made me freeze, I held as still as possible, trying not to even breath as I heard the sound again, closer this time.

    "Mark? Are you alright?" Luke asked, his telepathic voice sounding a bit strained as he rested against the trunk of the tree, his breathing even but shaky. I didn't answer, not wanting to compromise my position. Very slowly, I eased myself to my feet, channeling my aura into my hands, an action that I've been told in the past makes my hands look like they're cloaked in blue fire. Of course, I don't know if that's actually true, but I imagine it'd look pretty cool if I could actually see it.

    The sound repeated again, this time it was in the tree just next to mine. I raised my hands, focusing intensely as I formed a meager sphere of aura in my palm, aiming it ahead to the next branch I thought this mystery being would jump to. As soon as I heard the soft sound of footfalls on bark, I let my Aura Sphere loose, earning a yelp and what I guessed was the mysterious tree hopper falling to the ground. I jumped down to the forest floor as well, gasping in pain as the shock of my landing sent tongues of flaring pain up my legs and through my sloppily wrapped cuts. I pushed through the pain, staggering towards the sound of moving branches and irate grumbling. As I got closer, I could sense a smallish human aura sitting in the center of a bunch of broken branches. The person was female, judging by the shape and proportions of the kid's body. She jumped a bit when she saw me, backing up and clenching her hands into fists.

    "Don't come any closer, you freak!" She said, grabbing a branch and waving it in front of her, I cocked my head to the side, raising an eyebrow.

    "Seriously? You're gonna try to fight me with a stick?" I asked, staring at her quizzically. She puffed out her cheeks, swinging her "weapon" like a bat, smacking me in the side and making me stumble back with a small grunt of surprise.  
    "Kid, please... think about this for a second, if I wanted to hurt you, why wouldn't I have attacked you as soon as I walked up?" I asked, stepping back as she took another swing.

    "Don't try to trick me! I know you're with them!" She exclaimed, her hands trembling as she stared at me. I gave her a confused look. Who were they?

    "Hold on!" Luke said sharply, stepping between me and the kid. "Child, my friend wasn't trying to harm you, I'm sure we can settle this calmly, without the stick." He said, his stance not threatening, but not quite casual either. I heard the girl's soft breathing, her mistrust was palpable, obviously she had been through something that shook her up, but she seemed really young for something like that to happen to her out of nowhere...

    A slight rustle in the bushes behind the young girl made me flinch, I quickly sensed the area, uttering a small "huh?" When I found a vaguely familiar aura trying to hide behind a tree. I sighed softly.

    "It's okay, you can come out, I promise we won't hurt you!" I said, making the other person very slowly creep out from their hiding place. As they emerged, I registered the strange similarity between the person coming out of hiding and the little girl with the branch, who had lowered her weapon, still clutching it tightly as she took a cautious step towards the Lucario, carefully watching him as she gingerly reached out towards him. As she did this, the other person worriedly stepped forward, then stopped as she noticed how calm and still Luke stayed as the little girl touched his furry arm, running her fingers down the appendage slowly, seeming to enjoy the softness. The other girl stood stock still, I could feel her eyes boring into me, analyzing every possible detail she could pick out in the early morning light. After a long moment, the older girl spoke, her voice soft.

    "H-Hello..." She said shyly, looking around like she expected to be jumped. I didn't blame her, if she was the same person I sensed earlier and she had seen everything we'd been through, I would be shocked if she weren't shaken after all that.

    "Hey... weird question, but were you in a tree above my head earlier?" I asked carefully, blushing in embarrassment at how awkward that sounded.

    "Yeah... you were stuck to it with some pretty thick webbing..." She replied, her aura gently glowing among the multitude of other living things around her. She took a nervous step forward, her hand shaking a little as she held it out to me. I raised an eyebrow curiously, unsure what to do. She looked away quickly, retracting her hand.

    "Sorry I just... I saw how you risked your life for that Lucario, and crossing a Pokemon Hunter to do it... You're very brave." She said, facing me. I fumbled with my words for a moment, a million questions racing through my mind in the span of a couple of seconds. I finally managed to spit one of them out.

    "W-what? Pokemon Hunter?" I sputtered, I had heard of the infamous Pokemon Hunters during my short time in the Sinnoh Region, but I didn't believe they were actually a real threat, at least... not completely. If that really was a Pokémon Hunter who attacked us... I shuddered at the thought, terrified of what it might mean. I felt a chill run down my spine, like an Icicle got dropped down the back of my shirt. I looked at the two girls, studying their auras for a moment before letting out a sigh.

      "Well, If we're gonna kick start this plot anywhere, I guess it better be here..." I could feel everyone's blank stares, tough crowd. "So, who are you guys?" I asked the girls, smiling warmly. The older of the two girls sat down, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap, I mirrored her movement as best I could with my injuries, listening intently and letting my mind relax, the blue-colored world around me fading to darkness as my blindfold's tassels came to rest beside my head as they always did.

      "I'm Laura, that's my little sister Emily." Laura said quietly, her voice soft and melodious, like a lullaby

      "I'm Mark, my friend here is Luke." I said with a smile, gesturing to the Aura Pokemon. Luke hummed, probably waving to them. Laura giggled softly, I could imagine her with a huge grin on her face as she did, the thought brought a little smile to my lips. It seemed that things were going to be very interesting for us all from this point on, so I decided to take a deep breath of fresh air and relax.


	3. Ancient Echoes

    Hello, my fellow writers! My sincerest apologies for not writing an author's note in the first two chapters of this story, but I wasn't sure how it would be received. Now though, I would like to formally greet all of you wonderful people out there who decided to take a look at my little story. If it's not too much trouble, I would like to ask you all to leave some feedback for me, what can I do better? Is there something about my writing I could adjust to make it better? Did I miss a typo or other as I was writing? Please let me know what you think of this story and don't be afraid to let me know if there's any way I can improve it. Thanks a ton, and I hope you enjoy the chapter! I hope you all have a wonderful day! :D

   Why do dreams almost never make any sense? Seriously, I swear it's like Cresselia is just messing with me sometimes. I only say that because the night we met Laura and Emily, I dreamed that I was a Pokemon. That might not sound very weird to you, I mean I live in a world full of Pokemon, right? Why would it be weird for me to imagine myself as one of them in a dream? Well, do you dream about becoming something other than a human very often? There you go then.

    Anyways, I dreamt that I was a Lucario, leaping across a rocky landscape that was blanketed by a thick fog. I came to a stop in a deep, jagged canyon. The walls on either side of me stood tall and strong, their rough, rocky faces leering down at me as if they were saying, "You just try and climb us, you're gonna end up dead before you get three feet of the ground." I shook my head and continued onwards, distantly aware that there was something I needed to find, or someone, to be more precise. I sensed the auras around me, locking onto a blazing beacon of aura at the very farthest point that my aura sense would reach, I would guess that I had either been trained very well by a human, or my current form was just a really skilled Aura user, because my aura sight extended for about... half a mile? Maybe a bit more, I couldn't really be sure without having a way to properly measure the distance.

    I moved as fast as my legs would carry me, glad that I had the endurance of a Lucario, if I tried running as far as I did in my dream, I would be passed out on the ground from exhaustion. As I got closer to the strong, pulsing aura I could hear a kind of... whispering. Curious, I focused in on the sound. As soon as I shifted my focus to these faint sounds, they became as clear as someone speaking to me directly, rather than the distant, soft-spoken wisps of sound they were before.

    "I must protect them."  
    "You can't just leave like this!"  
    "I don't have a choice, It's my duty to the queen!"  
    "You understand what your plan will mean... don't you?"  
    "Yes, don't worry about it, I will be with you in spirit."

    I didn't quite understand what it meant, not at first. I sensed an aura taking to the sky, I could only guess, but I believe it was a Pidgeot. The human aura pulsed like a heartbeat, sending waves of life energy outwards like sonar, sort of like how I sensed my surroundings if I didn't want to use much energy. I heard the person's shoes scraping the stone ground as they turned. I felt their gaze come to rest on me, and it seemed like they were about to speak, but before they could utter a sound, I was shaken awake by a little girl.

    "Come on sleepyhead, it's time to go!" Her voice was loud, jarring me even further from my strange experience. I groaned, burying my head further into my pillow as I tried to ignore her. I heard a little huff, followed by a bright flash and the sound of a Pokemon being released from a Poke' Ball. I heard a little cry, but couldn't quite distinguish it because my head was in a rather comfortable pillow. Unfortunately, my comfort didn't last. I heard a muffled sound, and half a second later I was zapped with a short but very, very noticeable shock. I leaped out of my sleeping bag, sending myself through the tent flap and getting a face full of dirt as I landed with a muffled THUMP! I let out a sigh as I rolled over onto my back, enjoying the feeling of fresh grass tickling my skin.

    "Morning Snorlax boy, I see you've met Emily's little buddy." I heard Laura say, she sounded like she was standing over me. I grunted and pushed myself to a sitting position, rubbing my head.

    "You could say that, how long was I out...?" I asked, smelling the soft, sweet scent of fresh Berry Juice, I got to my feet, wincing and sucking in a breath of air as my sore legs throbbed, my wounds still hadn't properly healed from yesterday's incident, and I really didn't feel like having to re-dress them this early in the morning. I took a deep breath, my legs shaking beneath me as I took a step towards the delicious smell that I assumed was coming from a light breakfast. I sent out a pulse of aura and found that Laura had made up a little 'grab and go' breakfast of sorts, I couldn't see what it was, obviously, but from the smell and the shapes of the auras I was sensing, I could identify each of the items with relative accuracy. Two Sitrus Berries, cut into cubes and wrapped up in some kind of little bundle. A bottle full of nicely scented liquid, perhaps Nanab or Mago Juice? I would just have to taste it and see, I guessed. Next to the Berry Juice, I found a travel pack, I could vaguely sense some things inside, but I couldn't properly tell what they were, mostly because there wasn't much aura in the bag to work with. I turned back towards the girl's aura and cocked my head to the side. "Did you make this for me...?" I asked, curious. I heard her chuckle softly, looking towards the tree line.

    "Your buddy helped me, he was really worried when he saw you thrashing around last night, you opened your wounds back up with all your flailing..." She looked down, sighing softly. That explained my legs screaming earlier, I thought as a blush crept into my cheeks. My new friend must've noticed because she quickly shook her head, laughing nervously.

    "Oh no, no! I didn't put the new bandages on, Luke did it, he seems to really know what he was doing with the stuff you guys have here. How long have you two been journeying?" She inquired, her curiosity piqued, I could feel her intense desire to learn; it washed over me like a wave, I was a bit weirded out, to be honest. Why was she so intruiged? She only met us a day ago, it didn't seem normal to me that she'd be this interested in Luke and I after barely a day but I decided to shrug it off for now, I could ask her about it on the road.

    "Well... that's a bit hard to say. See, we were kinda on our own journeys before we met." I replied, wrapping my breakfast up in the soft towel that it rested on, tying the top up neatly so the contents of the makeshift pouch wouldn't make a mess in the bag. Laura hummed thoughtfully, walking over to stand beside me, her footfalls were soft on the lush grass. She stood quietly next to me, just basking in the comfortable silence for several calm moments.

"Siiiiiis, when are we leeeeeaaaaaviiiiiiing?" Emily asked, making me jump with her sudden appearance. Laura chuckled, and I could hear her ruffling the younger girl's hair playfully. Emily squeaked, giggling as her hair was tousled. I heard another set of footfalls coming from my right, and soon I felt Luke's familiar presence at my side, quietly watching the two girls while I picked up my new pack and slipped my arms through the straps, trying hard not to upset my injuries any further than I already had today.

"We should probably break camp and get going, I don't want to be caught out here when night falls, we have enough on our plates already without having to worry about getting hopelessly lost in a forest like this..." My friend said quietly, his voice calm yet a bit... uneasy? Concerned? I didn't know what it was lying just under his words, but I wasn't going to pry. Luke and I respected each other's privacy, if something was seriously wrong I knew he would tell me, the same was true for me and my problems. We were a team, and as such we each tried hard to treat the other as an equal rather than a Trainer and a Pokemon. It was for this reason that I didn't use a Poke' Ball to 'catch' Luke. I only bring this up because as we were breaking down the tent, Laura suddenly stopped what she was doing and just kind of... stared at me. I could feel her eyes moving over me, like they had when we met the day before, it was actually kinda unnerving to feel her eyes boring into me like that. I finally just looked at her and furrowed my eyebrows.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked, my voice a bit harsher than I meant it to be as I focused my aura vision on her, tensing up. I could sense her shrinking back slightly, I sighed. "Sorry... it just feels weird to have you staring at me like that..." I frowned, looking away.

    "No, I understand, I just..." she let her sentence trail off, sighing. "I've never seen anyone like you before, and I think you're really cool... I don't mean to stare like that, but I can't help it... you're just so unique." She said, her voice small and meek. I froze, completely taken aback. She thought I was really something special... but why?

    "I'm really not all that interesting, I just don't do things like everybody else, I want people to remember who I am instead of seeing me as just another Pokemon Trainer on a journey..." I looked down, a soft sigh escaping me.

    "Is that why you don't..." She paused, thinking for a few moments before shaking her head. "Is that why you don't have any Poke' Balls?" She blurted, making me stop and tilt my head a bit. I had never really thought about that.

    "I... guess so." I said after several quiet moments. "To be honest, I've never really understood the appeal of using a Poke' Ball, it just seems too easy, if that makes any sense..." I ran my fingers along my belt, feeling the smooth, supple texture of it. I shrugged, starting to work on breaking the tent down once more. Laura did the same after a second, clearly deep in thought as she worked. Once we had the tent all packed up, Luke called us over, Emily clung to his back like a week-old Chimchar would hang on to an Infernape. It brought a grin to my face as their auras appeared before me. Luke sighed softly as the little girl gently tugged at his aura receptors, I gently moved her hand away from the appendages, shaking my head. She blew a Razz Berry at me, pulling at the tassels of my blindfold, throwing off my balance as I was tugged sideways. I huffed, giving the kid a, 'cut it out or else.' Look, which she promptly ignored, giving my tassels another yank. Laura grabbed my arm, pulling me away from her sister and moving to stand in front of the younger girl.

    "Em, stop messing with them! Those things on the side of Luke's head are really sensitive, if you pull on them too much, you might really hurt him!" She said sternly, her hands on her hips. Her aura shone brightly as she mentioned the sensitivity of the appendages hanging from Luke's temples. She obviously took pride in her knowledge of things like that. I couldn't help but be curious about what else she knew.

    "pfft, you're just jealous you don't get a piggyback ride!" Emily replied, sticking her tongue out at her sister. Luke scoffed, shaking his head at the child's slightly bratty attitude. I chuckled, admiring the Aura Pokemon's patience with the kid, I don't think I could handle that. Just another reason I had a lot of respect for my partner.

    "C'mon, I found a pretty safe path out of here, but we better get moving if we want to get out before night falls." He said simply, starting off into the trees, I followed behind him, Emily's laughter bringing a smile to my face. I ran just behind my friend, focusing my aura vision in front of me, the other auras fading away as the ones ahead of me became clearer and the range of my aura sight seeming to jolt forwards, giving me more time to avoid incoming obstacles than I would have if I just sensed my surroundings normally. As the trees got a bit more spaced out and the gnarled, thick roots became less and less frequent, I decided to ask Luke about something that had been bothering me since he returned to camp.

    "So... any special reason you want to get outta here before tonight? Or is that just so we don't end up getting caught in the dark by that creep from yesterday?" I asked, staying just far enough back that Emily's hair wouldn't get into my face. Luke hummed softly, his worry gently settling in my stomach.

    "It's not just that Hunter..." He said, his voice sounding much more distinct in my mind, he was probably focusing his telepathy on me. A small frown spread across my face, why would he feel the need to do that? I concentrated, trying to telepathically contact Luke. I had attempted using telepathy like this before, but I wasn't quite... fluent with it yet.

    "Something's got you in a hole with a Sharpedo." Was the message that went through, it wasn't what I meant to say, but that's what went through. I sighed, shaking my head. Luke chuckled as he made a sharp left turn, nearly sending me sprawling in the process. I quickly changed course and caught back up with him.

      "I hope I'm wrong, but I think I saw You-Know-Who lurking around the woods, and if we get caught in the dead of night with HIM here..." I shuddered and tried not to think about it too much.

      "Let's just keep to the path and hope we don't have to test your theory..." I replied, an uneasy feeling building in my gut. We kept up our pace, stopping about every half hour or so to rest, but after about three and a half total hours of traveling, I was beginning to have doubts about the path we were taking. Luke tried to ease my worries, but my instincts were telling me we weren't getting anywhere, and it was really  starting to bother me. I finally stopped, grabbing Luke's arm.

"Are we lost or what?" I asked, furrowing my brow. I heard him growl softly as Laura's footsteps alerted me to her presence. She was panting and seemed to be struggling to stay upright. I gently took her by the arm, guiding her into a sitting position with a concerned look on my face.

"This should be the right path out of the forest, I'm sure of it..." His tone told me otherwise, I ran my fingers through my unkempt, semi-tangled hair , taking a deep breath. Emma let out a small squeak as she dropped from her position on Luke's back. She scrambled to her feet and quickly crept to her sister's side, making worried sounds as she looked Laura over.

"Well it doesn't seem to be! Where even are we!" I snapped back, clenching my fists. Luke sighed, his aura fluctuated as he seemed to shrink slightly. He crouched and hugged his knees to his chest, the grass rustling under him as his tail swished nervously from side to side. I frowned, joining him and gently placing a hand on his furry shoulder.

"Sorry.... I'm just flustered, between my weird dream this morning and this freaky Pokemon Hunter thing going on..." I shook my head and released a puff of air, my shoulders slumping a bit.

"Weird dream? What kind of weird dream?" He inquired while I absentmindedly plucked long, thin strands of grass and let my hands work while I thought back to my unusual experience from last nights' strip into dreamland. I heard Emma whispering to Laura, but I wasn't really paying attention to her words.

"Well... for starters, I dreamed I was a Lucario." I started, recounting my dream to my friend as my hands worked on their own, weaving the thin, lush blades of grass without a particular rhyme or reason, seeming to take on a life that was entirely their own while I spoke. After I had finished telling Luke about my dream, we sat in silence for several minutes. The only sounds being the soft flutters and chirps of bird Pokemon in the trees around us, accompanied by my little weaving project's melodious and subtle whistles. Laura had managed to stand again, with her little sister's help. She was leaning on a sturdy tree a few feet to my right, with Emma crouched between us, her eyes locked onto me as I weaved... something. I wasn't even sure what my hands were doing, I couldn't sense their actions accurately because the aura of the blades of grass kept blending in with my own, creating a blob of blue that made me dizzy when I tried to decipher what was me and what was plant fiber.

      "How are you doing that?" Emma piped up, making me flinch a bit and causing me to fumble my little craft, I quickly retrieved the loosened weaving, a soft warmth dusting my cheeks as my hands returned to their work.

      "To be honest with you Emma... I have no clue." I replied, turning my head towards her. Her aura was softly shimmering among the grass around her, which came up to my waist in my sitting position. She seemed to be picking grass from around her, trying to copy my fluid motions. She wasn't too good at it, her fingers were a bit too clumsy with the blades of grass, pulling them apart more often than she was able to weave them together.

      "This is hard..." She whined, letting her handful of grass flutter back to the ground. I heard Laura giggle softly.

      "Here, let me help." I said as I handed my bowl- shaped object to Luke, who took it carefully. I scooted over to sit next to Emma, gently taking her hands in mine, letting them flow into the craft like a stream would flow into a pond, carefully moving my fingers with hers, guiding her as I began to slowly fit the thin strips of soft, limber fibers together in a steady mesh. Emma seemed starstruck as I slowly pulled my hands away, sensing her fingers continuing where I left off, after a minute she sighed and handed the grass to me.

      "Here, you're better at this than I am." She said, giggling as I took it and started absentmindedly as I let out a soft sigh. Luke hummed thoughtfully, examining my partially made basket for a moment before turning to me.

"Your dream... it sounds oddly familiar." He said, a thoughtful tone etched into his words. I shrugged, unsure how to reply. Laura walked over to us, plopping herself down next to me, listening intently. After a moment she looked at me, cocking her head to the side.

"Could it be possible that you were seeing something from the past?" She asked, her voice weighted with intrigue.

"Maybe..." I replied thoughtfully, placing a hand on my chin, stroking it while I thought. Could it be possible? Maybe so... if so, where did that leave us? More importantly, where were we going to go from here...?


End file.
